How to Eat Clean and Save Money

Are you having trouble staying within your budget, both for dollars and for calories? Then ask yourself: How many times a week do you eat at restaurants and fast-food joints? If you're serious about losing weight, you need to keep dining out to a minimum.

The simple truth is, when you don't make a dish yourself, you really can't know what's in it or where the ingredients come from. You can ask all the right questions about whether the chef uses organics; you can speak up and ask to have your food grilled instead of fried; and so on. But unless you're in the kitchen with the chef, you can't know whether the quality of the ingredients is good or whether they're being prepared in healthy ways. Restaurants are businesses, and they are out to make money — many of them use the cheapest ingredients possible, like trans fats, high-fructose corn syrup, nonorganic meats and vegetables...the list goes on!

By cutting back on eating out, you'll save a fortune — money you can spend on healthy groceries! Plus, you can guarantee that everything you're putting into your mouth is fresh and healthful. And you can control your portion sizes.

Of course, you can't always make your own food or control your environment. I do still eat out, but for no more than five meals a week, and when I do, I order white fish or wild-caught salmon, healthy whole grains such as brown rice, and plenty of vegetables. Your options may not always be perfect, but it's still up to you to make smart choices.